The Legislature of British Columbia will have adjourn- ed by the time you will read this article. The Legislature began the Spring Session in March and lasted four months. Probably the most important news story generated during the Spring Session was the sudden announcement of the resignation of Premier Bill Bennett. The Mainland Media attempted to lead its readers to a false conclusion regarding the resignation. In personal discussion I held with the Premier, he stated emphatically that he was step- ping aside after 12 years of public life for another individ- ual to head the Social Credit Party. Mr. Bennett has won three general elections and Bill felt it was time for a change. A change in his own’ personal life and one for the Party he has represented for over 12 years. Publicly, Mr. Bennett stated he didn’t want to end up in public life like his father, W.A.C. Bennett. Bill is a young man and has other plans for his future than politics. The Social Credit Party will be choosing a new leader and Premier at a Leadership Convention starting July 28 in Whistler, B.C. The Atlin Constituency will have 25 del- egates, the same amount of delegates as 9 out of 10 con- stituencies throughout the Province. As of the writing of this report, there are 10 declared candidates. Being the youngest M.L.A. in the Legislature after the 1979 and 1983 elections, I was pleased with the Premier’s decision to step aside for a new revival of the Social Credit Party. But to be leader and Premier takes more than youth — it takes experience. I didn’t want to become like the leader of the Opposition; youth on my side, but lacking the experience to become Premier of this Province. ; I will be voting for a candidate who is an individual and not an elitist. | found too many elitists in the New Democratic Party, making too many decisions. I want a leader who can be tough and one who can show compas- sion. | want a leader who is not manipulated by special interest groups but over all, will be competent to lead this Proyince as Premier. CASSIAR CONSTITUENCY OFFICE We have just arranged for a new Atlin Constituency Office in Cassiar. The phone number is 778-7645. This is the third constituency office. If you have any questions or inquiries please contact the above number for friendly and helpful assistance. Letter To The Editor OUR FORESTS NEED YOUR HELP Beginning next year British Columbia will be plant- ing 200 million new trees. But the benefits of this aggres- ive planting program can be quickly wiped out by wild- fires. Each year forest fires destroy thousands of hectares of prime B.C. timber. Many of these fires could have been prevented. Others could have been extinguished earlier if they had been spotted sooner. We need your readers’ help in being more careful with fire in the forest and reporting wildfires. With the help of you and your readers we can all work together to keep B.C.’s forests green and growing. Yours very truly, Jack Heinrich, Minister of Forests. Fire Season Preparations Vern Barge, Operations Superintendent, B.C. Forest Service at Dease Lake, says they are geared up for the up- coming fire season. Three 3-man initial attack crews are currently stationed at Dease Lake but they are prepared to move into any high hazard area. There are also look- outs posted at the primary Lookout stations: 1 Ace Moun- tain, McLeod and Dodjatin, and patrolmen are stationed at Atlin, Dease Lake and Watson_Lake. B.C. Forestry has moved its office from Lower Post to Watson Lake and is located in the old Watson Lake - Yukon seaplane base. Also the tanker facility used to load air tankers is now fully operational at Dease Lake. In the Cassiar area permits are required for all fires from April 15 to October 15 each year. Permits for small debris fires, such as yard cleaning, may be obtained from the local fire chief, but permits for land clearing, road right-of-way fires, etc., must be obtained from B.C. Forest Service, Dease Lake, Ph. 771-7211. oN Residents Question Census The 1986 Census is presently being con- ducted in Cassiar and surrounding areas. Ina change from previous years, Cassiar has been included as part of a rural area, and its residents are being canvassed individually by enumerators. Considering the personal nature of some census survey questions, this has given rise to some reluc- tance on the part of Cassiarites to co-operate with the Statistics Canada representatives. The Courier spoke with Marjorie McLay, Census Area Manager for the Yukon and the Stikine on June 10th. She advised us that rural areas are routinely picked for enumeration by canvassers rather than having a drop-off/pick-up system (such as Whitehorse has). “‘It is a matter of simple economics: each household is visited only once, " she said. ‘We have to hire people locally for two reasons - it creates employment, and these. people know their area and the habits of the residents."’ She mentioned that canvassers sent from a neighboring region would not be as efficient because they are not familiar with the area. She also mentioned that the decision to group Cassiar in with other rural areas was a decision made in Ottawa. As to the decision to distribute the long form of the census to all residents, she advised that this was done because there is insufficient population to use the selec- tion process. The information compiled other- wise would not be statistically relevant due to the minimal population base. Some people are concerned about the neces- sity to include a name and phone number on the outside of the forms. Ms. McLay advised us that once the information has, reached the regional office and been checked by quality control staff, the raw data becomes anonymous and is shipped to Ottawa. The data does not move between fed- eral government departments at all. Ms. McLay has met our local enumerators and says, “| am pleased with the quality of people we (Cassiar) have.’’ She pointed out that accord- ing to Sections 16 and 28 of the Statistics Act, employees are sworn to secrecy with penalties for those who release confidential information. She also noted that such a case has not yet occurred, to her knowledge, but that provision is made for such an offence. For those persons who do not comply with the census representative, they should be aware that failure to answer all questions truthfully could result in that person being “‘...liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.”’ (Section 29 of the Statistics Act). Although the census process can seem to be invasive to one’s privacy, you should keep in mind that British Columbia stands to lose up to $3,000 over a five year period in federal transfer payments for each B.C. resident not enumerated. As well, the census is the basis for distribution of parliamentary seats and the determination of riding boundaries. Support your community by counting yourself in! Work Underway At Hrickson’s Mill Work is well underway at the site of the new mill at Erickson Gold Mine. The footings for the fine ore bin are complete and the north wall and ball mill founda- tions have been poured. Construction Superintendent John Bell said the. main building will be 120 feet by 50 feet. He said the new mill will be a more compact structure than the old mill which was a long, skinny building. The 300 ton per day mill is expected to be in operation in November. af. <¥ - 4+ eat » * 9 be > be c ~ aS + Provincial Secretary Grace McCarthy has announced a number of changes to bingo and casino regulations in British Columbia. Mrs. McCarthy, Minister responsible for public gaming, said the changes are the result of a tho- rough, province-wide review by her Ministry. The Minister said the Government undertook the review when new commercial bingo halls began to appear in British Columbia in late 1984. It was expanded to in- clude all casino as well as bingo regulations when Mrs. McCarthy became Provincial Secretary in February of 1986. Casino activity particularly, has demonstrated a rapid growth and has caused some concern among law enforce- ment agencies. ‘When I reviewed the situation and care- fully considered the concerns of the police, I recognized it was time to re-emphasize the first principles of bingo and casino licensing in B.C.,’”” Mrs. McCarthy said. “Bingo, casino and ticket lotteries, must, as a first priority, gener- ate proceeds for charitable organizations. Bingos are not a business and casinos must return to being adjuncts to social occasions. The Government is not in favour of legalized casino-type gambling”, the Minister said. The changes to the terms and conditions include the following: CASINOS - casino-style gambling licences will be issued only as an adjunct to a social occasion; - a maximum of three casino licences per year, per group for a one, two or three-day event (licences not to run consecutively ); - casino gambling will not start before 6:00 p.m. and will not run more than six hours; - only members of the licenced organization can act as cashier/bankers; - minimum 50% of casino “keep” (the amount left after winnings) to be donated to charity (increased from 35%) - maximum of 12 licences issued per week in Greater Vancouver Regional District; - maximum of 10 blackjack tables and five roulette tables (no wheels of fortune or other games). Maximum $2.00 bet (down from $5.00); - new casino rules will be effective July 14, 1986. Continued to Page 14 Atlin Socred president visits Cassiar A recent visitor to this community was Andy Burton from Stewart, in his capacity as president of the Atlin Constituency Association. Mr. Burton hopes to establish an active Social Credit support group here. It is his goal to increase membership throughout the riding to establish further party strength and unity prior to the next provin- cial election. A public information meeting to gain local input will be held at Cassiar in early September. Further details will be available closer to that date. In the meantime, Lee Coran or Sherry Sethen will be pleased to.assist anyone interested in joining the party. The Atlin Constituency Association’s Annual General meeting will be held at the Masonic Hall in Stewart on Monday, June 30, 1986 at 7:60 p.m. At that time deleg- ates will also be chosen to attend the Social-Credit leader- ship convention which will be held at Whistler at the end of June. Wright Elected President At the annual general meeting of the Stikine Teachers’ Association held in Cassiar on June 7, John Wright was elected president and Judy Sikora was elected vice-president and local repres- entative to the B.C.T.F. Pat Clarke, outgoing president of the B.C.T.F. was a speaker at this meeting and he spoke about the general conditions in B.C. and about the cli- mate between the B.C.T.F. and the government. Joanne Voss, chairperson of the Board of Trus- tees for S.D. No. 87, also met with the teachers and spoke about the relations between the S.T.A. and the School District. ; CASSIAR COURIER STAFF Pat Beaton Lee Coran Karen Taplin Thank you to all the contributors to the July issue. There will be no Courier published in August. We would like to remind everyone that August 11th is the deadline for submissions to the September, 1986, issue. CASSIAR Bits & Pieces How lucky can you get? Lisa Spetch’s VISA card arrived the very morning she was off to Watson Lake for a shop- ping spree. How long will this one last, Lisa? Congratulations once again to Larry Otto who has been running up a storm lately. Larry recently won the Ketch- ikan Marathon. Judith Knapp doesn’t have to worry about misplacing her bicycle: it’s a mountain bike painted pink and is hard to miss. : snowflakes drifting gently down! Cassiar really made a clean sweep of the Fishing Derby at Dease Lake last weekend. Joe Bucar won first prize of $400.00 with his 26 Ib. fish, Julius Kirsch was second with a 14 lbs. fish, Rick Calloway came in third with an 11 lb. fish and Drago Lagarusic was fourth with a 10 lb. fish. Was there anyone from Dease Lake in this Derby? Verna Knowles was seen ‘kicking up her heels’ in Edmon- ton recently. She was attending a Legion convention and says she’s coming up Cassiar way in September. Al Taylor says “Hi” to everyone from Gibsons, where he retired last year. He says he keeps busy working around his place and hasn‘t even had> time to go fishing yet. Gee, what the R.C.M.P. don’t have to do these days to prove a point! It was nice to see Ruth and Larry Aspen back in town for a brief visit. They were in for daughter Carla’s graduation. What’s this - a school for sale? Wonder if someone ts try- ing to raise extra money for their holidays! This has been an active and successful year for Cassiar’s ball players. We hear that some Cassiar parents would like to thank the Sliders for teaching our young people the P.J. Salute! We heard that Luciana Artico was seen modelling under- wear recently - on her head! -Someone get the name of the modelling school she attended. How much help was Andy Scott to his recent “choking victim”? Was it really first aid, Andy, or Just serious groping? A certain teddy bear in town is getting a stunning new wardrobe. Is the idea that Rodney will look like Brock, or the other way around? A recent visitor to Cassiar from Saltspring Island will be long remembered for the gift of fresh seafood he packed along with him. We understand that Jim will be wel- comed with open arms any time he chooses to visit in the future. We hear that one of the local baseball players was so con- cerned that. he might imiss his 8 a.m: game, that he carried his sleeping bag down to the diamond and slept on second base. Is it true, Vince? Dave Pewsey’s mother was in town for another visit. It’s a long trek from Johannesburg but Mrs. Pewsey makes it regularly. FAREWELLS The end of June sees many people leaving Cassiar. We would like to say farewell and best wishes to: Rosemary, Hannah, and Lewis Clarke who will join Paul in Faro. Paul is the Operations Manager there. Marie, Shawn and Travis Penno, also off to Faro where Adolph is the Controller for the mine. Stefan, Alice, James and Wendy Dyk who are moving to Port Coquitlam. Stefan has been promoted to Tech- nical Sales Manager for Cassiar Mining and will be based in Vancouver. Rob and Sandra Denton and their baby who are moving to Port Coquitlam, planning to start a business Dan and Gloria Wonnocott, off to Calgary also to go into business. Lance and Jackie Hayward who are moving their family to Smithers. ¥ Reg, Margaret, Sylvie and Sonia Girardin going to Quebec. Bill Nymeyer who is off to Kamloops. Carol and Chance Mackin. Carol will be attending school in. Whitehorse where she will learn restaurant manage- ment. Gordon and Claudette Parton off to Whitehorse. David Smith who is going to Montreal for a holiday. He will be attending Centennial College in Toronto in the fall where he will take industrial machinist course. Sheila Best is off to Kelowna to join Don. Men, Betty-Anne and Nathan Prier off to Quebec _ Ray and Shawna Hamilton and Drue are moving to Winnipeg where Ray will be teaching. Dusan, Ljiljana, Alexander and Marina Stupar. Carol Landry and Melanie, who are moving to Terrace Sinisea, Susan, Marco and Kristina Jovanovic. Virginia Goodwin who has moved to join her son. a Marilyn Forward who has moved to the bright lights of Vancouver. ; Julie Demers and Guy Dube off to Surrey. Guy will be taking his h.d. apprenticeship with Finning there. Cheryl McCargar, who is heading south Keith Kroeker, who is going to Vancouver Island to join Mary. . j Glen Smith and Sylvie Chauvin. They are moving to Orangeville, Ontario. New BS Arrivals Congratulations to Penny and Steve Kenny on the birth of their second son, Kyle John Joseph, at \'ston Lake Hospital on June 5, 1986. Kyle weighed in at 8 lbs., 3 02. JAKALINE CLEMENTS Jaki graduated from Port Coquitlam High School an in September she will be going to Douglas College to study Computer Sciences. She attended school in Cas- siar from Grade’3 to Grade 7 inclusive FOTO FORO TO ROOT ROOT TOR AK * TO THE GRADS OF ’86 x * * *] would like to extend congratulations across the miles ® + to my real grad class and a thank you to the teachers + who helped me. Iam sorry I am not with you. Best of » * luck in the future to all of you. x ie : x x From your ex-classmate: Irene Carin * ; * FI II IK IIH II II II III IIIA II AIN * SSS SSS OS f Cassiar Courier July, 1986 Page.3 — ea Erickson Creek Column’: Lis Hello Readers! While I remain at Erickson Gold, I will be contributing my bit of news to the Erickson Creek Col- umn. With the departure of Pat Lewis Beaton we have said goodbye to a fine friend and talented person. The gals at the Camp got together at Carol Kollar’s for a very personal farewell on Saturday, May 24. It was a great party! An “Ode To The Wife Of A Mining Man”, written and read by Yours Truly was dedicated and pre- sented to Pat. * On June 20th friends gathered to say an official good- bye to the Beaton family. They are planning to make their home in North Vancouver, where Al is employed by Total Erickson Resources. Pat says she is looking forward to the opportunities city life offers for the whole family.: June 21 heralded our “Longest Day of the Year” party. Lobster pots boiling and steaks cooking made it an- other successful event. Congratulations to Steve and Penny Kenny on the birth of their second son, born at Watson Lake, weighing in over eight pounds. A fine brother for Gavin! The men and women of Erickson are, for the most part, working again. The new mill is on the rise. Changes - are taking place and it will be an interesting future for this gold mine in the North. The following few lines of verse are dedicated to everyone experiencing changes as we come to the close of another’ school year and look into the summer. Some of you are moving away from the area, others are changing jobs or lifestyles. Whatever it is, my best to everyone for the summer. Think positive and prosper! CHANGES by Lorraine Lanteigne Who can really understand changes? We are creatures whose emotion ranges From the cool and undefending To the angry and unrelenting Passionate being, tingling with life Or saddened creatures caught in strife. Passions and emotions are directions Life’s drive and feeling giving instructions On just where and how to live Leading us to know how to love and give That part of ourselves,that demands release Living up to our standard — that may not please. Changes occur because of the plan Set down before the beginning of man And these changes are hard to accept For they force us to become adept At seeing ourselves for who we are As we strive to follow our own star. ‘ For into the world we are born alone Responsible for our history on our own So if I should disappoint you with life’s plan I want you to know I’m doing the best I can To live a way in which we are both free While still following my life’s destiny. KENNETH DAVID COOK Kenneth David Cook received his B. Eng. in Engin- g eering Management at the Royal Military College, ® Kingston, Ontario, on May 16, 1986. % Ken was born in Cassiar and attended high school % here from 1977 — 80. He completed his secondary % ¥ education at Niagara Christian College and then enlist« ¥ y ed in the armed forces R.O.T.P. program. He is now ¥ @ stationed in Chilliw ¥